Building a Great City (Through Your Calling)
- Stephen Phelan
- Aug 22, 2010
- Series: Building a Great City
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Neh. 2: 10-20—Building a Great City (Through Your Calling)
Mid-City 8/22/2010
From the inception of Harbor Mid-City, it has been our conviction that we are called to be for the city of San Diego and Tijuana, that we’re here to make this city reflect the heavenly city of God. So each week, through the book of Nehemiah, we’re looking at different components that we need, as a people, to live into that calling of making our city a great place for the glory of its rightful king—King Jesus. This week we’re going to talk about calling. So critical—that you have a sense of calling on your life. See to move towards a great city, we need people who get out of bed every day and move into their day with the certainty of calling. I am God’s man, or woman, who is called to the tasks before me today.
To discern God’s call in your life, I am going to give you 6 areas to think through: (1) passions, (2) opportunities (include reason), (3) community, (4) Bible, (5) Prayer/Fasting, (6) Gifts.
(1) Passions: v11-12, “I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” The key phrase—so important, did you hear it, “What God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” “What God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” I didn’t dream this up. This isn’t something I cooked up in the backyard. This isn’t something that I am doing to go make the big bucks. God put this passion in my heart. He planted it there.
For those of you who are followers of Jesus, many of you have experienced this. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, puts an unquenchable passion in your heart. Rms. 7: 5-6“5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit.” The Spirit creates new passions, one that you can trust. If you are in relationship with Jesus, you are a new man, a new woman. He has made you new—He has given you His Spirit. Ps. 37:4—key verse for calling—“delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” New desires/new passions, that are planted by the Lord.
Paul gives us a great example through his life of what he was writing about in Romans. In the book of Acts, here you see a guy who is lead by the Spirit. In Acts 20: 22-23, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” Then, just to clear up any myster, in chapter 21 God sends a prophet named Agabus to Paul and he takes off Paul’s belt, bound up his hands and feet like he was roping a cow, and says, “The Holy Spirit says, “In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” So all the other apostles and friends of Paul’s start pleading with him not to go and he say, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” God has put such a passion and burden for the city of Jerusalem and the name of Jesus that not even death is a deterrent.
In my life. I grew up in Alabama. Honestly, probably didn’t think about San Diego, didn’t care one ounce for this city, until 2003. I cared about football, girls, grades, the outdoors, and then God planted a desire in my heart for cities. Why? B/c cities are collections of people, and Jesus loves people. And so he planted his desire in me for this great city. And all that is within me wants to see a renewed San Diego & Tijuana. See that is how a couple from Alabama ends up giving their lives to San Diego—Jesus plants His passion. As Paul says, “We’re compelled by the Spirit.”
For those of you who are not yet followers of Jesus, what I am talking about seems foreign and strange. More than strange, it ticks you off because it sounds like I am encouraging people to play the God trump card. “Jesus, told me do this.” And what do you say to that, “No he didn’t.” “Yes, he did.” “No, he didn’t.” And you sound like a couple of 4 year olds.
If a Spirit-filled passion and desire were all there were to understanding God’s calling, then I would agree with you because I have actually seen people who claim to be Christians do some really wacky stuff using the God trump card and the only explanation they give is this first component of calling—“passion.” But there is more to it to understand your calling….
(2) Need
v13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal [a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.”
So Nehemiah becomes Double OO7 here and goes on an undercover night mission b/c he says, “I want to see the need for myself.” Is there a need? Back to Paul—Paul says in Rms. 15:20, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.” Paul says I wanted to go where the need was the greatest.
If God is calling you to something, then there should be a need. That is another reason an Alabama boy is called to San Diego. I wanted to be in a place of need. People who study the church say that you need about 12 churches per 10,000 people for the gospel to begin to transform the region. In the San Diego communities that we have studied, we typically have around 3 to 4 churches per 10,000. Bradford and I were drawn to San Diego b/c it is a place of spiritual need. We need a whole lot more churches. And that is why we’re thankful to be in partnership with our brothers and sisters in the Southern Baptist Network, Acts 29, Lutheran, Anglican, and others who are teaming together to see more evangelical churches planted in San Diego b/c there is a need.
So, if God is calling you, there must be a need. But, as it has been wisely said, “A need alone doesn’t constitute a call.” See you can’t isolate one of these points in determining God’s call—there are needs everywhere.
(3) Open Doors
17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
Notice he says in v18, “The gracious hand of my God was upon me and I told them my story. I told them how I was a wine-taster, and I heard about the great need in Jerusalem and I fasted and I prayed and all of a sudden God planted an unquenchable burden in my heart to come rebuild the city. Listen—I should be dead. I committed two felonies, both punishable by death. I was sad in the presence of the king (make sign of cutting head off) and I, as a slave, asked for a vacation—a 12 year vacation and a little career change. And then I told the king I needed him to pay for my house in Jerusalem to live in, get my passports and call all the foreign consulate offices, and personally fund the rebuilding of the city, the gates, the walls, and a church. And the King said yes. So, my friends, obviously, God is opening doors here. The gracious hand of God is on me. He obviously has confidence in me, so let’s do this. And they say, “Cool. I’m in.” And then, MC Hammer style, they all said, “Let’s Get It Started.” MC Hammer—gotta love that guy.
Ex’s: punting, overhead projector, NFL
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-Opportunity (v18)—hand of God opening doors miraculously
-God and Guinness; Change the World
--Paul—God shut the door Acts 16:6-8
-Community
--Tom & Bria
--Nehemiah with trusted friends (1:11)
--2 mentors, friend, assessment center, 3 years under Dick interning, wife
--Biblical
-Not Biblical rulette (though God uses rulette—Eric)
-1:8 (quotes Lev.)
--Prayer & Fasting
--Nehemiah prayed/fasted for 4 months
--Gifts
--Mention last b/c of God’s proclivity to use wine-tasters as city-builders. He just likes to use the weak things of the world to shame the wise. Nonetheless, he uses weak things—that means you have some strength (not completely absent). Nehemiah had shown strength as leader (thus ascended ranks—don’t start out as wine-taster). In charge of winery, ordering, etc.
--Gospel: connection—Jesus had you in his heart (Psalms)
-Close with call to Jesus (effectual call)—you hear his voice. Respond, b/c everything we mentioned today doesn’t happen outside of the personal call of God.
--To Build a Great city you need called people, not consumers.
-Opposition (v10)—see footnotes in Bible
-“I had not told anyone”—prayer/planning/research/development
-“What God had put in my heart” (calling) (v18/20 also)
-Coltrane
-Paul’s calling Acts 21—the one thing
-See Packer’s stuff on calling
-Dermot on Alexa using story now redemptively
-Secrecy of night
-4 month journey that he starts with 3 days of rest
-v17-18: Transcendence and immanence (Latimer story)—pg 58 of Brown
--Mockery—pg 59 of Brown (Paul/Jesus mocked)
1. Soccer practice, woman jeering at me at Ford’s soccer practice; then there was the nerd
--v19—rebelling against king was the same reason that previous restoration effort was stopped. Must have cut to quick
-v20—God of heaven will give us success
--arhchaelogical confirmation
Driscoll
Working in Susa in Babylon. People have left, cities abandoned for 141 years. Spends 3 or 4 months fasting. Heart is for both church and city. Church gives city a gift and His name is Jesus. King agrees to miraculously sends Nehemiah. Would have taken 3 to 4 months with supplies. He arrives in Jerusalem—no banners, cookies. He shows up and bloggers meet him, “We hate you. Die.”
They had opposition. Elton John, “I hate religion b/c it turns people into hateful lemmings.” Howard Stern, “I hate all religions.” Some people just don’t like Christians. Opposition to churches/Jesus.
Arrives, tons of work, and he takes a 3 day weekend. Very convicting. Takes a Sabbath on the front end, rather than on the back end when he is fried. Americans work harder than any other nation on the earth. Yet in Gen God gave evening first, then morning. When sun went down, you went to bed. Sabbath, then work, in creation. Sabbath prepared you for work so worship continued into work. Do you squeeze time in for Sabbath or is it priority?
V12 Nehemiah waits to get vision out. He gets firsthand information, not relying on false information himself. You don’t change the city—you reach neighborhoods. Valley Gate is a neighborhood. Cities are tribal, broken up by culture, freeways, etc. Gates have been torn down. The gates of the city protected it, but also let people into the church. Pitches this as a multi-site approach to planting campuses/sites. City was so destroyed that I couldn’t even get to parts of it.
Nehemiah has a fortitude about him—what he is calling people to is God’s will. He has checked into planning, resources, fundraising, and he says here is the work and it will be great. We’re going to open the gate so people can meet Jesus.
See the trouble “we” are in. Let “us” build the wall that “we” are in. Doesn’t say “you have lots of work, but this is something that we need to come together on. We are for the city. We moved our family here and will, Jesus-willing, die here. Join God in what he is doing.
People say, “We’re in.” These are the few that have hope, and the response is that the critics come back. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. They jeered at us and despised us.
